Broncos beaten in five
Ball-control problems doom Burrillville
JOHNSTON — When the Burrillville girls volleyball team managed to pass the ball inside the 10foot line to junior setter Kourtney Paine, the Broncos were tough to stop Wednesday night against Johnston.
The Broncos were efficient passing the ball in the second and third games to take the lead in the Division II match, but far too often in the other three games the Panthers served the Broncos out of system and out of sync.
Thanks to the serving of senior Kara Cournoyer and the hitting of Paige McCreight and Katelyn Paine, the Broncos were just 12 points from victory, but then the Panthers dominated the end of the fourth game and the fifth game. Led by Tori Viau, Michelina Irons and libero Jaylen Molina, the Panthers controlled the final 44 points of the match to secure a 25-16, 22-25, 24-26, 25-22, 15-7 victory.
“Our girls had trouble adjusting because we play system ball, so when the ball comes over unexpectedly [on the first or second contact] we’re unsure of what to do,” Burrillville coach Heather Farrell said. “We adjusted a little in the second and third games by getting off the net a little bit more. Half of the girls on the floor have been through these tough matches and the other half came up from JV.
“Our setter is new to varsity and I thought she played well, but we’re young in some spots and this was the first time they’ve had to deal with pressure like this.”
Burrillville (1-1 Division II) opened the season with a home victory over Exeter-West Greenwich last week. It might be hard to remember because it was nearly 18 months ago, but the Broncos were one of the best teams in Division II last season. They earned the No. 2 seed from II-North and advanced to their second straight semifinal where they were beaten in five games by eventual champion East Greenwich.
The Broncos returned a few talented kids from that squad including McCreight and Cournoyer, but most of the kids who played Wednesday night were in stands watching last season’s team play. Burrillville is back in action Friday night when it makes the short trip down Route 7 to take on a North Smithfield squad that hasn’t played a match yet due to a COVID quarantine.
Wednesday, Viau and the Panthers jumped all over the Broncos in a wire-to-wire victory in the opening game. The out-of-sorts Broncos trailed 12-2 and never could work their way back into the game. Cournoyer produced four straight aces in the middle of the game, but the Broncos still lost by nine.
“They played nervous in the first game and I just told them in the huddle to go back to playing their game,” Farrell said. “It was just about pass, set and hit and playing their game. That’s when they did well and took it to them.”
Burrillville trailed 8-4 in the second game when the older of the Paine sisters, Katelyn, produced two kills and a service winner to get the road side back into the game. Back-to-back kills by Cournoyer and McCreight tied the game and the Broncos eventually wrestled control of the game away from the Panthers to even the match.
The Broncos were simply dominant for almost the whole third game. The visitors trailed 10-8, but then McCreight inspired an 11-1 run to build an eight-point advantage. Burrillville eventually built a 24-18 lead, but the Panthers scored six straight points to tie the game. A Johnston service error and a Cournoyer service winner won the game for the Broncos.
Burrillville started the fourth game well, building a lead of 1311 before the Panthers took complete control to win their season opener.